MLB: Brown sidelined by concussion-like symptoms

Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, left, prepares to tag the Cardinals’ David Freese out at home during the second inning Wednesday in St. Louis. Freese tried to score on a fly out by Pete Kozma. (AP Photo)

ST. LOUIS — If Domonic Brown realized that saying he was a little woozy after hitting the ground hard on a diving attempt to make a catch meant he had to sit out two games, he would have waited a bit to make sure.

Instead, Brown’s honest response to a question from the head trainer late in Tuesday night’s 4-1 loss to the Cardinals meant the Phillies’ best offensive player would have to miss the final two games of the crucial series at Busch Stadium due to MLB’s concussion policy.

“You automatically miss two days when you start filling out the concussion forms,” Brown said prior to Wednesday’s game. “I didn’t know that until the forms were completed. I thought I was going to be able to come back in and play today. I feel pretty good.”

The All-Star, who is hitting .271 with 24 homers and 69 RBIs and had played in 99 of the Phils’ first 100 games entering Wednesday, had shown some wooziness after his diving attempt to catch Carlos Beltran’s fly ball down the left-field line came up empty. When the Phils made a pitching change after Beltran’s triple, Brown was hunched over in left field with his glove off. However, he remained in the game and had one more plate appearance in the top of the ninth, a pop out.

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After Brown drank some fluids and ate a meal, he felt good enough to walk back to the team hotel with a gaggle of fans following behind.

Brown got a sound night’s rest and showed up at the ballpark ready to go through the protocol required when a player is diagnosed with concussion symptoms.

“I feel good. I feel like I’m back to normal, honestly,” Brown said. “I was just a little dizzy (Tuesday). That’s pretty much it. I didn’t have any headaches.”

By the time Brown spoke to reporters he already had gone through the battery of tests to determine if a concussion took place. He said the tests of memory and balance gave him no problems. That doesn’t change the fact that Charlie Manuel had to start Laynce Nix (who entered the game batting .192 with a .532 OPS) in left field and bat Delmon Young cleanup Wednesday.

As if that weren’t big enough a pill to swallow, the roster move made to add another player capable of playing the outfield sent third catcher Humberto Quintero back to Triple-A and returned to the major-league team, for the third time this season, utility player Michael Martinez.

That’s the Michael Martinez with the .506 career OPS, which is the lowest of any active player (350 plate-appearance minimum) and the 17th worst among all position players who have been in the majors since integration in 1947.

Add Martinez to a bench that already has Nix and John McDonald (4-for-46 this season with three teams), and Manuel has to wonder where, exactly, the runs are supposed to come from this series.

“Am I surprised? Nothing surprises me,” Manuel said when asked if Martinez as the best option causes him to wonder. “I don’t get surprised. Maybe if you walked in and said I got Ted Williams. That would surprise me. I would be surprised.

“If that happens, I’ll personally come and find you and tell you.”

Until the frozen disembodied heads of Hall of Famers become a viable midseason pickup, the Phils have to play with the cards they have – even if they are Seven-Deuce.

“We can’t afford blows (to the team like losing Brown),” Manuel said. “But you’ve got to be able to take a blow. We’re supposed to take the blows. That’s what they say.”

The only solace is that Brown probably won’t need a stint on the seven-day disabled list and should be ready for the Phils’ series in Detroit against the A.L. Central-leading Tigers this weekend.

“In order for us to make a run, we have to really, really play good,” Manuel said. “Every day we play we have fewer games and have to play a really high percentage of baseball. I’m not saying that we can’t. I would never say that we can’t. At the same time … it’s tough for us.”

Anyone hoping the Phils might make an addition or two might not want to hold their breath for it. Manuel didn’t think anything was imminent. General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said that the Phils had inquired about Milwaukee closer Francisco Rodriguez, whom the Orioles acquired in a deal Tuesday, but that he was told his system didn’t off the Brewers “the right fit” when it came to a prospect.

“We’re not really close on deals,” Manuel said. “I’ve always told you guys I don’t get excited about talking. Talking ain’t bleep, if you want to know the truth. Talking ain’t nothing. It’s when you have a deal and they say, ‘We made a trade.’ That’s when you’ve got something.

“I think it depends on how much interest teams have in our guys. The closer it gets to the deadline, that’s when we’re going to find out how much someone is willing to part with. There’s just a lot of fishing right now.”